Jakob Fuglsang made his intentions clear on a brutal day of racing on stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse, launching a solo attack in the final four kilometers before crossing the line in third place.
Fuglsang, who has showed strong form all week and today, capitalized on impressive teamwork to set the Danish leader up to fight for the stage win. Although he narrowly he missed the win, he moved onto the podium to now sit in second place, six seconds behind stage winner and new race leader Aleksandr Vlasov (BORA – Hansgrohe).
“It was a great day today and the boys were super strong. Already coming into the race, we had this stage in mind knowing it would be a difficult one and it could be a decisive one because of the nature of the stage. From this morning, we decided that we would take the decision on the road in terms of how we would approach it,” said Fuglsang.
It was the IPT train, led by Krists Neilands, Houle Houle, and Daryl Impey that caused damage at the start of the last lap, causing many riders to drop in the tough conditions in the south of Switzerland, where temperatures reached 38 degrees.
“With 30 kilometres to go, Krists Neilands came to me and said ‘I’m feeling good so if you want us to ride, just let me know’. In the end, that was perfect for me to try something. Daryl, Krists and Hugo did a super good job making it hard and making the perfect pace on the last few climbs, at the beginning of the last lap. Then it was up to me in the final to try something. I didn’t manage to get to the finish line alone but still, I am happy that I managed to put Bora and Ineos a bit under pressure even though they were the guys with more riders in the final group,” explained Fuglsang.
Although he missed the stage win, with his solo attack neutralized just inside the final two kilometers, Fuglsang takes confidence from his performance ahead of the next two road stages.
“All in all, I would have loved to win the stage but I’m super happy with the result anyway. It is maybe also good that we don’t have the yellow jersey to defend in the next two days. We will see, the next days will be the decisive ones and the ones where you can lose everything so it’s about staying focused and keeping up the good work.”
